Persona: Shards of Dreams
by Shadestar16
Summary: Two years after The Fall had been prevented, Ken begins a new life in Yumewa. However, a threatening rumor known as "The Nightmare" haunts the town and it is up to Ken and his newfound allies to restore a certain shattered heart to save everyone. *CURRENTLY REVAMPING*
1. Arrival at Yumewa

**A/N: Hi and welcome to Shards of Dreams, my first Persona fanfic! The main character here is obviously Ken Amada two years after the events of P3. I hope you will enjoy the story I have put here c: This chapter has been slightly revised while the rest have been /completely/ revised.  
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><p><strong>Velvet Room<strong>

Ken's eyes opened slowly, only to find himself in an unfamiliar area. He remembered he was on a train sleeping and was completely bewildered by the fact that he had suddenly ended up somewhere else. He began scanning his surroundings. He felt like he had been here before but briefly, when Aigis and the other S.E.E.S members were summoned to learn the truth of their deceased leader and the origins of Metis.

There was an abundant amount of velvet everywhere; the sofas, the walls, floor, and tables; were all different shades of blue velvet. He noticed that he was sitting on a blue velvet chair in front of a large table in the vast room, and the whole place was illuminated by candles since the outside of the windows were pitch black.

He felt a vibrating movement and the sounds of wheels screeching on what seemed to be rail road tracks, to which he assumed he was on some sort of train.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

Ken looked up and almost jumped at the sight he had seen. He couldn't take his eyes off of what seemed to be a man. The man stared at Ken with bulging wide eyes that looked like they were about to pop out of his head and a creepy large grin. He had an impish figure to him, a receding hairline that was bordering on baldness, an abnormally long nose that could possibly reach the heavens and was clad with a black tuxedo and white gloves. He blinked for a moment before prying his attention towards the person next to him.

Next to him was a young girl who seemed just a few years older than him. She had platinum blonde hair that was tied up into two pigtails with large blue bows that were a lighter shade than the room. She wore a dress that was also the same shade as her bows and had beautiful amber eyes along with a pale complexion. She stared with the same intensifying look the man gave to him while holding a large brown tome on her lap.

"Ah, it seems we have another guest with a very intriguing destiny. One who has stepped foot here before," the old man chuckled. His voice had a mysterious gentleman-like quality to it and with a Transylvanian accent. "My name is Igor… It is a delight to have you as our new guest." He gestured his hand to the young girl.

"This is Beatrice. She is a resident of this place, like myself."

"H-hello," Beatrice murmured and averted her gaze shyly.

Ken nodded his head slowly, still utterly confused as to why and how he ended up here. He should've been on the train ride to his new town, not on this strange train ride to wherever.

"This room is a place that exists in between dream and reality, mind and matter," Igor explained. "Only those who are bound by a "contract" may be allowed in the Velvet Room. It may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future. Now then, why don't you introduce yourself?"

_Contract?_

At that, Ken regained his composure and kept a calm and recollected face. He looked at Igor straight in the eye and attempted to hide the fear dwelling inside of him.

"I'm Ken Amada," he stated sternly.

"Hm…I see. Now, let us take a look into your future, shall we?" Suddenly, a deck of cards were summoned onto the table and emitted a blue glow.

"Do you believe in fortune telling?" Igor asked, waving his hand over the deck and instantly the cards separated into a hexagon shape. "Each reading is done with the same cards, yet the result is always different." He began to chuckle, "Life itself follows the same principals, doesn't it?"

Igor waved his hand and a card flipped over in the middle of the hexagon shape. It revealed what seemed to be a tarot card; it had a black silhouette of a man with one foot over what looked like an edge of a cliff and a dog following him.

"Hm… The Fool in the upright position represents your beginning, the start of a brand new journey you will embark on very soon. The card indicating the future beyond that is…" Igor said as he waved his hand over the table once more and another card was flipped over, revealing a faced crescent moon above a stream, with a crab in it, two towers and two dogs howling towards it.

"The Moon in the upright position," Igor began. "This card represents "hesitation" and "mystery"…very interesting indeed. It seems a great mystery will be imposed upon you during your journey. In the coming days, you will enter a contract of some sort, after which you will return here. My duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that the future will not be forever lost."

"Forever lost?" Ken asked, slightly panicked. "But we just defeated Nyx two years ago! How can our world be at risk of being lost?" He was confused and had no idea what was going on now. S.E.E.S had stopped "The Fall" from occurring thus humanity could continue on living. What else could try and end all life?

"Calm down, child," Igor reassured. "You will find that out soon at your destination."

Ken was about to ask more but was interrupted by the sudden voice arising from outside. It sounded faint but became more audible more and more.

"We will attend to details another time. Until then, farewell," he said to Ken before the room had been engulfed by a bright light.

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><p>As he opened his eyes, he found himself back on the train he was riding to; Yumewa, a town that was rumored to give its residents their happiest and best dreams. Mitsuru had suddenly decided to enroll him here for some reason this year, and claimed that it was because of how outstanding his grades were that she thought it would be best for him to attend a school that was different than Gekkoukan.<p>

It sounded strange to him though, because everything seemed fine until now. He stayed in a new dormitory and while he remained distant, he was able to live with his dorm mates.

_Oh well, I guess it's okay. I still feel like she's hiding something from me though..._

The voice he heard in his dream happened to be the woman whom was announcing their approaching arrival to the small town.

Rubbing his eyes from the sleepiness, he turned his head towards the window and saw the sun was still up but was already dipping slowly; its orange light shining upon the green grass and streams outside. There was also a forest and beyond the slits of them he could see the glistening ocean.

Ken was amazed at how beautiful the landscape looked and was anxious to see what the town would look like. He had heard that they had many different clubs and departments in Yumewa Academy and decided to join the soccer team there once he settled in. How excited he was, to see new surroundings that contrast the city-like Iwatodai.

"This is the station for Yumewa. Please make sure to take your entire luggage with you when exiting," the woman announced from the loudspeakers.

"Looks like I'm here," Ken said to himself as he grabbed his backpack and stepped out of the doorway of the train. Departing the station and making his way through the crowd, his eyes widened at the small town before him.

Apparently it was supposedly small from what the brochure had said but it looked much larger in person. It didn't have as modern buildings as Iwatodai did but instead had a rich, prestigious look to it. In the middle, he could see a tall clock tower that towered over all the buildings in the town and had begun to chime.

Two lavender doors would open when it had rung, and out from the tower were figurines of two dragon-like creatures; one white and the other black and a dream catcher hanging between them in their claws. It played a cheerful musical tune as the figurines danced before returning inside the dark interior of the tower.

"This place…is different," Ken thought before finally heading into the town. While walking around, he saw that the town was still modern-like; it had a small mall and a couple of businesses here and there but there were some country side aspects to it too. There was an open plain where many people would gather around to play or have picnics and relax, along with a river flowing next to it.

Ken felt the new change rather refreshing. Though it wasn't like Iwatodai, he thought that maybe he could stand living here after all. He would miss the members of S.E.E.S though, and the thought of being away from them pained him a little. Especially the new friends he made in Gekkoukan Junior High.

_No, I'm most likely here temporarily. I'm sure I'll be able to see them again soon._

Looking at his pamphlet again to focus on where he had to go, he looked at a mini map of Yumewa and searched for the dormitory. Finally pin pointing the location, he began heading towards his new dorm.

**Yumewa Dormitory**

Reaching the dormitory, there were two large buildings facing each other that had yet another fountain between the large distances of them. There were two arches to each building; one with pink roses and the other had blue roses. He assumed the arch with blue roses was the boy's dormitory and walked onto that path where bushes lined up amongst the cemented pathway. Opening the large door before him, he peeked into the interior of his new dorm.

The lobby was big; a couple of sofas and chairs on one side of the room with a large T.V. and to the right of it was the entrance to the cafeteria. To his left by the entrance was a desk and sitting behind it was a man whom was busy typing on the computer. He had apparently heard the door opening and his head shot up to see the young boy standing by the entrance.

"Ah, you must be Ken Amada. Welcome to Yumewa Academy," the middle aged man greeted politely and stood up, walking by the desk to stand in front of Ken. His dark black hair was neatly combed and he wore a navy blue formal suit with a white jabot and black pants. Ken looked up at the man who looked at him with gentle gray eyes.

Ken instantly got the impression that this school was mostly for rich first class children and felt that he may not fit in because he was not used to this kind of environment. However to show a good first impression to this high class man, he bowed and greeted him back. "It is a pleasure to meet you sir," he stated firmly.

"My, a young polite gentleman you are," the man smiled. "I am Yasushi Nakashima. I hope you will have a splendid time in Yumewa Academy. If you have any problems, feel free to come to me or to the other staff." After introducing himself, he turned around and with a wave of his hand, he said, "Please, follow me to your room," walking up the spiral staircase at the end of the room.

Ken began following him up the staircase while admiring the exquisite interior of this place. There were vases placed on every floor apparently and they all had different designs and shapes to them which were quite unique.

There were a few boys that left their rooms on the second floor and ran outside of the dormitory. Mr. Nakashima shouted at them, telling them to walk slower but did not pause from leading Ken up to the third floor where his room was located. Finally down a long corridor of doors on each side, they reached to the end of the hallway and stopped in front of the last door on the right.

"Here we are," Mr. Nakashima said, pulling out a silver key that glistened in the sunlight from the window. "You'll need to carry this key with you at all times when you leave the dormitory or you won't be able to get into your room," he told him but with a light tone in his voice. He dropped the key into Ken's small palms and told him that if he needed anything then he could come to him down at the receptionist's office.

'This reminds me of where our leader's room was," Ken thought as he inserted the key into the keyhole and unlocked the door to his new room. Opening it, he saw a single white bed at the end of the room in the middle and his belongings already put out. There was a glass door that lead to a small balcony outside and a body mirror on the right of his dresser.

_Lucky me, huh?_

At least he didn't have to do any unpacking except for his clothes which was a relief to him because of how much more time he could relax now. Closing the door behind him, he dropped his backpack and slumped onto the bed.

It was really comfortable; one of the softest beds he had ever laid on. The feeling of lying on a mound of feathers was much more relaxing than having to sleep on a hard train seat for several hours and it made him feel like going back to sleep. He turned over and stared at the white ceiling above him, his eyes still fighting the urge to close completely.

"So, this is the place I'll be staying," he murmured and closed his eyes. Everything was completely silent except for the faint cries of the birds outside. Turning over, he stared at his reflection sleepily on the mirror. But something seemed...off.

A dream catcher hung off the post of his bed, a small red shard in the middle of its white hoop. Before he could react, he felt as if his eyelids were forced shut and had fallen into slumber.


	2. The Nightmare

"…Huh?"

Ken slowly opened his eyes and saw a pale orange ceiling in front of him. He sat up quickly and shifted his body around, scanning his new surroundings that seemed very familiar. It was dark in the room, so it was difficult to make out everything but thanks to the moonlight outside he could see a few things such as his Featherman Ranger action figure sitting on his desk along with the other toys scattered around his room. He gasped, realizing where he was.

_I'm in my room…but does that mean…?_

He bolted out of his bed, dodging the toy obstacles on the floor and opened the door, finding himself in the dark hallway with only puddles of light from the moonlight outside the windows. He gulped and raced to the door at the end of the hallway to the right. He could feel his heart pounding faster as he felt anticipation rise in him, hoping to see the person he missed the most. The person that was most dear to him. The person that was…

"Mom!"

He opened the door with no hesitation and ran into his mother's bedroom. A woman jolted up from her bed, startled by the sudden outburst of her son. Sleepy brown orbs met an energetic pair as the small boy leaped towards his mother and embraced her into a tight loving hug. Light muffled sobs could be heard as Ken nestled his head onto the crook of her neck, feeling her long light brown locks upon his face. He took in a breath of his mother's fragrant scent that she always had, feeling nostalgia spread in his body.

She was real. He felt her warmth against his body, her presence existent to him much to his delight.

"What's wrong, honey? Is something wrong?" She asked as she wrapped her arms around him as well but had sounded confused. That sweet and motherly tone in her voice that Ken missed; it was still there. She was here and in his arms. Ken looked up at his mother with tears in his eyes and a weak but joyous smile.

"I'm just so glad you're here," he murmured and embraced her tightly once more, wanting to feel her presence again after so long. His mother chuckled lightly, a laugh that sounded like beautiful music to him.

"Of course I'm here, sweetie. Did you have a bad dream?"

Ken nodded his head as he wiped the tears out of his eyes. His mother smiled warmly at him and pulled him in, her long soft fingers combing through his brown hair. She bent down and planted a gentle kiss on his forehead with her soft plump lips.

_I missed you so much, mom…_

"Come, maybe a midnight snack will help you feel better," she said and got out of bed, revealing her pale pink pajamas. He held her hand tightly and they both walked outside of her room, heading towards the kitchen. Ken looked around his house and took in every detail, seeing it all before the 'accident'.

_So…was it all a dream? Personas, Nyx, Yumewa, and mom's death?_

He plopped down on a chair in the kitchen and became excited when his mother brought out the cookie jar they had. As she poured him a glass of milk, he was busy eating the homemade cookies that were always the best to him.

"My, you must be very hungry," his mother chuckled as she combed his hair with her fingers again. "Don't eat too much or you'll get sick~"

Gulping down the last bits of a cookie he threw in his mouth, he chugged the glass of milk, forgetting his great dislike for it in the past.

_It's all real. She's really real!_

"Not anymore."

He froze, hearing the deep and dark disembodied voice speak out to him. He looked at his mother whose eyes were wide as well and they both looked outside the window to see a teenage boy on the ground, clutching his head and screaming. Ken clearly remembered how this would end as he felt his stomach churn at this realization.

_No…!_

"K-Ken!" Her mother shrieked as she felt his small hand tug on hers suddenly, stumbling over her steps as they dashed towards the door. They stopped momentarily when they felt the house suddenly shake and their household items toppling to the ground. She watched it all in horror and looked down at Ken who had a grim expression on his face.

"Ken…?"

He knit his eyebrows as the house began to fall apart, the debris from above already crashing down. Opening the door, he pulled on his mother's arm with all the strength he could use so she would not face the same demise as before.

"A-ah!"

They managed to escape the building before it completely collapsed; however, his mother had fallen over, followed by a shriek of pain.

"Mom!" Ken cried and as the dust in the air faded, he could see his mother more clearly. Most of her body managed to escape except for her leg that was caught under the debris. More screams could be heard from the teenager and when Ken turned around he saw a dark glowing entity above him, feeling his heart to lurch at the familiar horrifying sight. A knight with long flowing platinum blonde hair flowing and a blade impaling his chest, the ebony armored horse appeared before them.

Castor.

The demon that had taken his mother's life hovered above the agonized boy. He not only took her life, but his as well. The only difference was that his mother's was physical while his was emotional.

But something seemed…off about Castor. The eyes on the horse seemed to have emitted a strong red flame as well as Castor's. He looked at what seemed to be the younger Shinjiro who was on the ground motionless. The teenager began to slowly get up, a manic laugh escaping his lips. He snapped his head up, revealing golden eyes that glowed amidst the darkness of the night. His mouth formed into a sadistic and twisted grin as he maintained his posture.

Ken stared in disbelief at the boy who was definitely not like the Shinjiro he knew. His mother struggled under the debris and gasped when she laid eyes on the monster. She had let out a shrill scream after a moment of shock.

_No, this isn't…it isn't him. It's just—_

_A Nightmare._

"It isn't? The person who stripped you of everything you held dear?" The disembodied voice asked in a rather mocking tone.

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Ken spun around and began lifting the heavy debris off her helpless mom who was still screaming in fear and squirmed around in attempt of getting out.

"K-Ken! What is that?!" Ken remained silent for a moment as he kept his focus on getting her out of here. Explaining can be done later; they needed to get out _now._ 'Shinjiro' slowly dragged his feet towards them as if he were a rotting undead, his head tilted to the side with that disturbing slasher grin stretched upon his face. In his hand he dragged a large battle axe that plowed through the ground.

Grunting, he managed to flip the chunk of debris off of her leg and grabbed both of her hands, immediately helping her up. His mother scrambled upwards but because of her injured leg, it was difficult for her to move.

"ThErE iS nO eScApE."

Ken pulled his mother's arm onto his shoulder and ran while minding her injury. The neighboring houses changed into ruined and abandoned buildings and only a large dense forest surrounded the area. Nightmare Shinjiro was laughing like a madman as he twisted his head to the side, approaching the two.

"I'm CoMiNg FoR yOu, KeN aMaDa," he screamed in a sing-song voice, as if he were enjoying this greatly.

"Come on, mom! This way!" Ken shouted as he decided that their only escape route was through the thick dark forest. His mother was too confused and scared to comprehend their situation so the only thing she could do was follow her son's lead. As they made their way through, they could hear Nightmare Shinjiro's laugh echo into the night.

"YoU cAn RuN bUt YoU cAn'T hIdE!"

They sprinted through the forest as fast as they could, hoping to find an escape from the two demons chasing them. Suddenly, Ken tripped over a root and tumbled down a short hill they nearly ran down to. He ended up getting a couple bruises and scratches but he didn't care about that because his mother's safety was his first priority now.

"Ken, are you okay?! I'm coming down!" His mother shouted down to him. Just as she was about to go down the slope, a gasp escaped from her mouth and her eyes widened.

A sharp ebony horn pierced through her chest suddenly and she hung upon it like a rag doll. The horn was revealed to be from Castor's horse as he came into Ken's viewpoint. A large stain of blood began spreading across her shirt as drops of it seeped out onto the grass below her.

"Uuu…"

Ken felt his entire body freeze in place and was unable to move because of the sudden scene that happened before him. His bottom lip trembled in fear as he stared at his mother's hanging body dangling upon the horn. He closed his eyes and resisted the tears that threatened to fall.

"UUWAAAAAHH!"

_No…no…it's all just a bad dream…_

_A bad dream. A…—_

_Nightmare._

When he opened them again, he saw Nightmare Shinjiro leaping straight at him, holding the giant axe above his head. He quickly scrambled out of the way as Shinjiro planted the axe deep into ground in the spot he was at a moment ago. Nightmare Shinjiro effortlessly pulled the axe out and stared down at the boy who was backing up frantically.

_!_

He had backed up against a tree and small thin vines began to wrap themselves around his wrists and ankles. As he struggled to get out, he stared up at Nightmare Shinjiro with widened eyes. Nightmare Shinjiro raised his axe up in the air, preparing to swing down at the trapped boy.

"No EsCaPe."

Suddenly a strong gust of concentrated air shot out from their side, blasting Nightmare Shinjiro away towards a large tree and dropping his axe. The axe plummeted out of his hands and landed between Ken's legs, inches away from his body.

…_Ack!...n-no comment…_

He slid up the tree trunk and carefully avoided the sharp blade of the axe while moving as fast as he could. Nightmare Shinjiro seemed to have recovered quickly, despite being blasted into a tree and nearly tearing it apart within impact.

_Well of course, he isn't human…I think._

Beginning to back away slowly, he spun around and prepared to sprint but was met with a rather strange sight; a pale blue gazelle bracing itself for battle, clear silver eyes glowering at the monster. Small mystical-like trinkets hung off its long sharp horns.

_What the…is this a part of the dream too?!_

"Come on, this way!" The gazelle shouted to him, baffling him completely. It didn't seem like it was going to wait as it turned around quickly and began dashing off. He realized he had no choice but to follow it since Nightmare Shinjiro was already reaching for his axe.

It was difficult to maneuver through the heavily dense forest, especially with no light source to be found with the exception of the small glowing orbs on the tip of the creature's long ears. Even when he felt the branches scratch against his skin and the roots that threatened to hinder his escape, he was still determined to get away. But there was one thought on his mind that made him feel a pit of despair in his chest.

_Mom…_

"Look out!" The high-pitched voice cried. He turned around to see Castor charging straight at him, his horse's horn aiming directly at his back. Before Ken could react, he felt one of the large roots block his foot from moving any further.

"Gah!"

As he fell forward, he felt his heart stop for a moment as Castor hovered over him. Pushing himself up, he saw Castor swiftly spin around and prepared to charge at him once more but was blasted away with a gust of strong wind.

The creature quickly made its way towards Ken and prodded him impatiently with its snout.

"Hurry! Hurry!"

Suddenly the antelope nipped his shirt and flung him up into the air all within a few seconds. Ken had let out a cry as he involuntarily flipped in the air and luckily landed right-side up on the antelope's back. It then leaned downwards into a running stance.

"Hold on tight!"

He blinked for a moment but instinctively wrapped his arms around its neck as it suddenly propelled itself through the thick and dark forest, leaving a whirlwind of leaves, branches and dust behind.

They were going so fast, Ken could barely open his eyes to see where they were going but could already feel the presence of Castor and Nightmare Shinjiro following them closely.

"Up there," the antelope shouted. He forced his eyes open as he looked upwards and saw a large dream-catcher hovering in the air, its pale orange feathers hanging down close to the trees. Suddenly, the doe came to a halt and raised its rear.

Due to the momentum, Ken screamed as he soared through the air towards the dream catcher, flabbergasted and confused. He grabbed ahold of the web instinctively after impact and held on tightly.

Looking behind, his eyes widened as he saw an approaching battle axe aviating towards him. As he quickly moved to the side, he managed to avoid the blade; however, his sleeve had gotten caught in it as it lodged itself into the dream catcher.

"Uwah!"

He kept pulling and pulling with his left hand but he was still stuck. Ken suddenly felt his feet give way and slip from the web lines. He felt himself plummet as the axe tore a part of his sleeve and thrashed in the air, hoping to grab something in desperation.

"YoU wOn'T eScApE!" Nightmare Shinjiro roared as Castor charged at the falling boy. Ken screamed as he continued flailing helplessly. Below, the gazelle narrowed its eyes as it dashed towards the dream catcher, bending its legs at a certain point.

As it leaped into the air, feathered wings sprouted out of its back and the gazelle flew upwards, catching the boy with its mouth before the two demon-like creatures could reach him by a second. However, its flank had been grazed slightly as they soared up towards the center of the dream catcher where a large red crystal floated. Ken gasped as he still had trouble comprehending the situation around him.

The winged gazelle flung him upwards towards the crystal; however he was only high enough to reach the hoop. As he grabbed ahold of it, he suddenly felt a strong grip on his foot and he turned around to see Nightmare Shinjiro staring at him with horrific grotesque features on his face. His sclera was pure black and only his golden small pupils glowed within the darkness. Ken screamed and thrashed his leg around to try and loosen his grip.

_No…this…this isn't Shinjiro at all! He doesn't look like this at all!_

_I…I…_

"Leave me alone!" He screamed and proceeded to stomp his face with as much power as he could use within his leg. It was very effective as Nightmare Shinjiro released the boy, and screamed in agony as it fell off the dream catcher, plummeting towards the ground.

"Touch the crystal!" The gazelle told him hastily as it flew towards it, disappearing with ruby orbs of light engulfing its entire body as it entered through it.

With no hesitation, Ken reached towards the crystal and felt himself become engulfed within the crimson light.

…

_Where…am I now?_

As the light faded, he found himself on the ground lying in soft spring green grass. Sitting up, he saw two thin trees holding small orbs of light in their branches, resembling little stars.

Between them was a large silver tree that was big as an oak, and looked similar to the two smaller trees with the exception of it having different bright colors within it. A door made purely of ivory was embedded into the tree and small flowers bloomed around it.

He looked around and saw two waterfalls close to each other, its water pure and crystal clear; due to the dark interior, it appeared that he was in some sort of underground cave.

_Or a spring, I think…hmmm…_

"I'm glad that I was able to rescue you in time."

!

He turned around to see the same creature that took him away from the forest walking towards him. Now that he could get a closer look at it and not be in danger, he could see faint white swirl patterns on its fur that glowed along with transparent flowing fur above its silver hooves. He could see its wings fold back and disappear within its silky smooth fur.

"W-who…who are..er, well _what_ are you?"

The antelope sat down and bowed its head for a moment before lifting it back up. Its glowing silver eyes met scared yet curious milky brown ones.

"Um, I'm...I'm…," It trailed off, sounding very unsure of itself. It began pawing the soft grass with its hooves as it averted his curious gaze.

"Y-you don't… know who you are?"

The gazelle shook its head embarrassedly and continued averting his gaze.

"It's not important now…you can call me Phi," it stammered. Judging by the pitch of its voice, he assumed that the gazelle was of the female gender.

_I see. It seems like she's not comfortable discussing herself now. _

"Well, thank you for saving me back there Phi. But I ask…this is all just a bad dream, right?"

Phi tilted her head upwards and nodded.

"Yes…in a way. You see, you're the first one I was able to successfully reach. I couldn't really locate the others and find them."

_Wait, others? So they've had a horrible dream too?_

"Ah- it seems that light is returning where you are in your world," she said as she looked outside the cave, a bright blue sky before them. Before he could do or say anything, he felt his vision become blurrier and his body feeling lighter. "Maybe…maybe we'll meet again."

She turned around and began galloping out of the spring. Ken weakly reached his hand out to her in a last effort of figuring out his situation.

"Wait, Phi-!"

…

"Ah!"

Ken sat up promptly with a gasp, beads of sweat rolling down his face as he slowed his heavy breathing. With a gulp, he scanned his surroundings and found himself back in his room in the Yumewa dormitory. Sunlight was already shining through the curtains covering the windows.

_So it really was all just dream... _

With a sigh, he sat up and walked towards the window. He pushed the curtain to the side and allowed himself to bask in the warmth of the sun for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"Today is the first day I start school."


	3. Yumegamine Academy

**Yumewa Dormitory**

Ken stared at his reflection on the full body mirror that that stood before him in his room. He had combed the mess his hair became when he squirmed during the nightmare and now looked the same hairstyle he always had; short stylish brown hair.

His uniform seemed rather fancy but it wasn't a suit to be exact; it consisted of a white collared shirt with a navy blue jacket with adorned with gold stripes, long white pants and shoes, and a white jabot with a green oval-shaped brooch embedded into it.

He wondered why the uniforms had different colored brooches, but had assumed it was to distinguish the difference between the grades. He grabbed the brochure from his desk and unfolded it as he began reading it.

_Gold for Elementary, green for Junior High, and purple for High School._

He placed the brochure back down and took another look at himself in the mirror. Last he checked, it was pretty chilly outside so he decided to wear his orange jacket underneath his uniform. He couldn't really get in trouble for wanting to warm himself up a bit could he? While fixing himself up a little more, he began to think about the recent nightmare he had.

_That was certainly a horrible dream, but I can't let it distract me now. I just hope it won't come back again..._

Shaking his head, he immediately grabbed his bag off his bed and was about to leave until he remembered the strange dream catcher sitting on his bed post.

_It wasn't there before...was it?_

He suddenly heard a bell ringing in the distance, immediately alerting him.

_The first day and I'm already late?!_

He stormed out his door, running as fast as he could to only to crash into somebody. Right as they had collided, they had unfortunately been pushed back by the impact and were in a daze on the soft carpet.

"Geez, how many people am I going to run into?" Ken muttered under his breath as he looked up to see the boy already getting himself up and dusted off his jacket before lending his hand to him.

"Looks like someone's in a big hurry," the boy chuckled softly and gave a hearty smile. He had short slightly messy blonde hair and his emerald eyes glowed with energy. He wore the same exact uniform as Ken except his jacket completely unbuttoned, revealing a white collared shirt underneath.

"I apologize for running into you, but aren't we supposed to be getting to school right now?" Ken asked, perplexed as he took the boy's hand.

"Yeah, but that the first bell, which means we still have some time and we don't really need to run," he said with a smirk. "I'm guessing this is your first year here in Yumewa?"

Ken nodded, feeling somewhat embarrassed for being one of the only ones to panic.

"Well don't worry," he reassured. "I was like you back in fourth grade." Right after he finished his sentence, they heard a crashing sound on the floor below followed by moaning of pain.

"Looks like you're not the only one now," he laughed. "The name's Ryo Takahashi and I'll be starting my second year in junior high. I can show you around the school if you want."

"That would be really helpful, Takahashi-san," Ken said, delighted to finally have a tour around the school and possibly a new friend. "I'm Ken Amada, and I'll be starting my second year in junior high as well."

"Well, Amada-san," he began and briefly placed his hand on his shoulder. "Let's get going."

**Yumegamine Academy**

When they both exited out of their dormitory, Ken noticed students of different ages and sizes ranging from first grade to twelfth pouring out of the dorms and all walking on the same path to school. He glanced at the girls' uniform and noticed how it was completely different from the normal sailor uniform or the Gekkoukan uniform.

The uniform was light gray with a cropped thin coat that had the same gold stripes down their jacket, a white collared shirt with a bow that was a few shades darker than their grade brooch embedded in the knot, a hoop skirt with a gold stripe across the hem of the skirt and short white socks with black dress shoes.

_Interesting...I've never seen a uniform like that before. This school must be unique._

"Oy, Amada-san, we're almost there. Look at your new school!" Ryo elbowed him lightly. Immediately after Ken took his attention off the uniforms and towards the school, his eyes widened and his jaw had dropped slightly at the sight of it.

It was much larger than Gekkoukan High in size and certainly looked as prestigious as the brochure made it to be. Before them was a long, wide stone bridge that many students had already began crossing.

"Welcome to Yumegamine Academy~" Ryo sang in a joking tone, performing a short silly dance and a dramatic shake of his hands towards the entrance. A few girls had seen his silly introduction and giggled, to which Ryo responded with a flirtatious smile and a wink.

Ken had the impression that he must be the class clown kind of guy and smiled at his comedic attitude.

_He is certainly a lot like Junpei-san.  
><em>

Ken attempted to stifle his laugh. However, a snort had escaped from him which earned Ken an eyebrow raise from Ryo who gave a half-grin.

As they entered the school, he couldn't help but feel slightly out-of-place by the architecture of this area that he wasn't familiar with.

_But maybe in time I'll eventually become used to it._

Inside, he saw an open large field of grass and a fountain in the middle of the small plains, separate large buildings surrounding the area with three entrances; to his left, in front, and to his right. He noticed elementary students entering the left wing and the high school students to the right so he assumed the middle was for junior high students. Ryo slightly startled him as he patted his back.

"C'mon or we'll be late for real this time," Ryo said before he began to walk fast to the entrance of the junior high building.

Ken nodded and followed him into his new school building, feeling the slight panic from before come back. The lobby didn't look that different compared to Gekkoukan's lobby save for marble floors and being a bit larger.

He saw a bulletin board next to a staircase and ambled over there to check where his name was and his homeroom. However, he had some trouble as he tried slithering in through the junior high students who were crowding around.

Scanning the lists, he finally found himself on the list: Ken Amada – Class 2-B

'_Alright then_,' Ken thought and was about to turn away from the bulletin board but something had suddenly caught his eye. He looked at it once more and saw that Ryo was in his homeroom as well and turned his head, only to see Ryo nearby, giving him his usual goofy smile.

_Well, it looks like we're both classmates. Let's hope this year goes well for us._

**Homeroom**

After climbing to the third floor, which was the second year's wing, Ken and Ryo managed to find their homeroom and walked in casually, the door having already been open. The room looked quite taken care of and seemed to be in pristine quality. There were wooden desks lined up, a podium, and a wide chalk board behind it. There were posters on the walls which were the usual motivational kind.

He noticed that some students had already occupied a several of seats throughout the room so he and Ryo decided to sit next to each other around the middle.

Settling in, he scanned the classroom and the students in it. There were a couple of girls gossiping and giggling at the far left of the room, boys sitting on their desks and laughing about something they saw on TV the night before and the rest of them just talking casually.

A student that caught his eye though was a small girl who was sitting in the back by the windows alone. She wore the uniform rather differently than the others, wearing only a buttoned vest-like dress and no jacket like the others. Her long dark brown hair fell just past her waist with a long fringe that veiled the entire left half of her face. The girl sat still in her seat and stared outside the window with a neutral expression on her face.

"That girl over there's known as the "Snow Doll" from what I heard."

Ken turned his head immediately to Ryo who was leaning in his chair in boredom. He raised a brow at this comment.

_Snow Doll?  
><em>

"Really? I'm sure she has a name though; "Snow Doll" doesn't sound like a nice nickname," Ken replied.

"Yeah, but it's because she doesn't get involved with with others a lot. Usually people are too intimidated or scared to approach her because of the "icy" look she has or somethin'," Ryo explained, curling two fingers on both hands as he emphasized the "icy" part with exaggeration and an eye roll. "Nobody really knows much about her except that she enrolled her a year ago and she's talented at ballet too. Oh, and she has a hot sister."

_That last part wasn't really necessary..._

Ken nodded before glancing back at the girl again. She had turned her head slightly towards the duo, her dull brown eye staring at them. The look on her face remained neutral, however he suddenly felt frozen as he made eye contact. He had almost let out a small gasp after having been startled by the sudden action and quickly turned around in his seat.

_G-gah...I really wasn't expecting that. I hope she didn't get offended by that sudden action.  
><em>

Before he could think about it more, the teacher had walked in and the class had soon settled down. Ken didn't notice it at first but he saw that the whole classroom was already full now. He focused his attention now to the teacher that stood behind the podium. She wore glasses, a long red jacket and straight skirt, and her brown chestnut hair was put up into a neat bun, leaving some strands of hair on the sides.

"Hello class, my name is Tomoyo Mizutani and I will be your homeroom teacher for the next year," the teacher announced to the class. Ken could hear his classmates' murmurs spread across the room, most likely about her appearance. The thought reminded him of a story that Junpei told him about his friend who was interested in older women.

As the teacher took attendance, Ken listened to her intently so he would know his classmates' faces and he would probably have the chance to interact with them. For some reason though, the usual flow of the attendance came to an abrupt stop when Miss Mizutani was calling a student's name who seemed to not have been responding.

"Setsuna Yamazaki? Setsuna Yamazaki, is she here?" Miss Mizutani repeated, searching through the class. Ken could hear a barely audible "here" from the back and turned around.

The girl in the back he saw earlier raised her hand slowly and said "here" once more just a little bit louder than before.

"Ah, Miss Yamazaki. Alright then, check," She said to herself as she scribbled onto the paper. "Please raise your voice next time so I can hear you. Naoka Yano?"

"Here!"

As attendance went on, he saw Setsuna return her gaze towards the outdoors.

* * *

><p>Lunch appeared to be normal as well; there were several students whom stayed in their classrooms to eat, others in the cafeteria, and the rest were outside on the field. Ryo dragged Ken after he got his lunch from the cafeteria to the field that was already littered with students of many ages.<p>

He insisted they sit on top of a small hill so they could have a good view of the school's campus. There was nobody else who had really approached him during class so he thought it would be alright.

"Man, now this is a great view," Ryo said as he sat down with his melon bread in hand and a bottle of water. Ken followed him up the small hill and they both sat down, admiring the view from up here; they could see everything going on in the open field of grass. When they both began eating their lunch, there were two students who passed by them that were talking about something that caught their attention.

"Did you hear? Dreamcatchers are being randomly dropped at people's doors, especially at the dorms. From what I heard, those dreamcatchers give you your best dreams or somethin'."

"Really? I don't know man, I think it would be good to have one just in case. The Nightmare is spreading faster than usual all of a sudden, and I don't want to end up like _them_."

"I know right? I hope I don't get cursed with it; that'd be really awful!"

_The Nightmare?_

Ken raised a eyebrow and turned towards Ryo who was relaxing in his own world.

"What's this 'Nightmare' thing going on?" Ken asked after the students had been out of earshot. Ryo turned his head to him and prepared to explain after he swallowed a bite of his bread.

"Recently there have been cases of people who've gone missing or fell into comas and everyone calls it "The Nightmare" because they apparently get their worst nightmares before something happens to 'em. I seriously don't believe that's the case though. There's no way something like that could happen to a bunch of people," Ryo explained before biting into his bread again. Ken gave a slight nod and began thinking about it.

_You don't know what I've been through, especially with the Apathy Syndrome. Though, this might be something I should look into. I don't know...  
><em>

"Oh, speaking of that, I had a dreamcatcher delivered to me several days ago. I've been using it near my bed and I think it might be protecting me from The Nightmare. Not that I really believe in it or anything."

_Right..._

* * *

><p>After school had finished, Ryo and Ken made their way out of the school and began touring around town. Even though he wasn't an ideal friend he imagined having, he was okay with his laidback attitude. From what he learned so far, Yumewa didn't have the city-like feel of Iwatodai, but it wasn't a country town like some other place he heard Mitsuru mentioning before. It was like a closed-off area from the rest of the world since it was nestled between the mountains and a tall wall surrounding the perimeter with an entrance in each direction.<p>

While walking through the less crowded areas of Yumewa, Ken noticed there was one building different than the others; it looked old and ancient, as if it hadn't been taken care of in years. However, when he peered through the large glass window, he saw dolls of different sizes placed in front as mannequins and they all wore Victorian and Rococo styled dresses, majority of them in gothic schemes and with negative expressions on their faces.

Beyond them, he could see many different types of items on stock; especially dolls similar to the ones up front which took up most of the space. The interior looked dark and as old as the outside though, if not older. The sign above it read "Mikazuki's Antiques" in decorative English script.

"Oh, this place," Ryo said, noticing how Ken had already stopped walking. "If I remember correctly, this place is supposed to have been abandoned years ago, but with the creepy dolls standing here I guess I'm wrong."

They both examined the store through the large window before carrying on. Still, the store seemed somewhat peculiar to Ken. He'd consider visiting it another time to confirm his suspicion.

* * *

><p>When they returned to the dormitory, the sun had begun to go down as it reached night time. The lobby became somewhat crowded with the boys, most of them just hanging out by the TV or in the cafeteria chatting. Suddenly, there was a scream upstairs which had gotten everyone's attention. A young boy ran down the stairs, nearly tripping over his feet. His body trembled as he had sweat bullets, his eyes wide as dinner plates.<p>

"I-it's the Nightmare! He's not waking up!"


	4. The Feeling of Uncertainty

"...Excuse me?" Yuna asked, looking quite puzzled by this situation.

Momoko seemed to have gotten even angrier as she began raising her voice.

"You're always the best out of the class and it frustrates me! It's so frustrating when I have to hear everyone always saying, "Oh Yuna is so talented!" or "She's such a wonderful dancer!" It makes me sick!" she screamed. Sobbing noises could be heard as her voice cracked at the last part of her sentence.

"Why can't I…" she murmured softly now. She clenched her fists in frustration, the emotions becoming stronger and stronger.

"Why can't I be be betther than you…why can't I at least have the spotlight, the attention…"

Yuna remained silent and her facial expression showed she was indifferent to the emotions Momoko began spilling out as tears started forming in her eyes. Ken looked up to the sky and saw a red transparent cloud attach to Momoko's body before finally merging completely into her.

Followed by that was a flock of ravens that gave shrill cries in the dull night. He looked back at Yuna whose expression had changed drastically and her eye widened as she saw the ravens coming closer.

'Wait, what's going on? Is something really…' Ken thought and held his weapon tightly in his hand, preparing to take action in case anything had gotten out of hand.

Suddenly, Momoko's eyes changed from its crimson color to a glowing yellow and instead of crying, she began to giggle which turned into a maniacal laugh.

"That's why I'm going to stop you from being better than me…I'll show you the PAIN of being humiliated!"

Yuna had taken a few steps back already, only showing signs of fear towards the oncoming flock of ravens and found herself stepping onto the now glowing silver bridge.

Her whole body was trembling as the ravens started to come closer and the now seemingly corrupted Momoko ran towards her, reaching her arms out in attempts of tackling her down.

Yuna turned around instantly and dashed off into the dark and dangerous forest with Momoko and the ravens on her tail. Ken and Ryo looked at each other with worried looks on their faces and leaped out of the bushes and chased after them.

"We have to save her!" Ryo shouted as they made their way through the eerie forest, hearing the ravens from afar.

"I know! But where did they-" Ken was instantly cut off by the sight of a large gate in front of them that was decorated purely of ivory. From behind it, they could hear the distant cries of the ravens.

Suddenly, the pendant in his pocket began to emit a bright red glow. He gave it a questionable look before looking back at the large ivory gate before them.

_There is definitely something going on with this place...and we have to find out what!_

Ken was about to push open the door but noticed that behind him Ryo was standing still, giving him a worried look.

"Are you coming or not?" Ken asked, turning around to face him. Ryo averted his gaze and remained silent for a moment before speaking up.

"Y-yeah…I guess…" he mumbled and slowly walked up to the gate next to him.

'Wait, is he too scared to come? Ugh, well nevertheless we have to go find those two!' Ken thought before finally giving the gate a push and they were both engulfed by a bright light and everything had turned white.

**?**

Ken's eyes shot open and as he expected, they were transported to somewhere else. He studied his new surroundings and strangely, he found himself in…a classroom?

Patting his pockets, he felt his evoker still with him and the disassembled broomstick Ryo gave to him on the ground. As he reached down to pick it up, he could hear a disembodied voice echo throughout the dark and twisted version of the elementary school.

"My brother is the best! He can beat anyone up if he wanted to!" A young boy's voice echoed throughout the entire area. He sounded proud and unafraid as if he were shouting to someone else that doubted him.

Ken's eyebrow rose and as he looked around again, Ryo was nowhere to be found. Sighing, he attempted to find his way through the spooky and dark elementary school. His pendant began to glow once more and Ken pulled it out, using it as a flashlight to find guide him through this place.

The hallways were dark and pitch black and everything he could see in sight seemed to be all different shades of gray. The more it started to scare Ken, the more he wanted to find Ryo and get the hell out of here.

"Big brother is always there to protect me. He always has a lot of courage, unlike me," the young boy's voice echoed once more this time, saddening now.

"No! Please, don't say that!" Ryo yelled. Ken could hear his voice from outside and attempted to make his way through the school by descending the staircases and pushed the front door open, seeing Ryo crouched on the ground in the middle of the school grounds.

"Whenever a bully comes by, I know big bro Ryo is gonna stop him! Right, brother?" the boy's voice suddenly changed into a deep and demonic voice at the end of his sentence. Suddenly, a shadow landed in front of Ryo from above and took form of a young boy who looked about eight years old. Ryo's eyes immediately widened as he saw a black aura emitting from what seemed to be his younger brother.

At first he seemed to look like a harmless and innocent child, but suddenly his peachy skin began to peel away, revealing gray underneath. His golden hair started turning into black, and his clothes grayed and ripped up. His green eyes faded into an amber color and his sclera had turned into a frighteningly pure black as he gave a large and hideous smile.

"Satoshi-kun…" Ryo whispered, horrified by the twisted and hideous creature that stood before him. Satoshi only smiled in amusement as Ryo slowly backed away from him.

"What, are you too afraid to see your little brother again, big bro?" Shadow Satoshi scoffed and took a few steps closer to him. "You are my protector, aren't you?"

After he finished his sentence, the world suddenly changed its grim and gray color to its normal colors. All three of them heard several voices far to their left, where they saw a small crowd of kids standing in front of a little boy that looked like Satoshi's normal self and another boy who was on the ground behind him.

The group of boys didn't seem to have noticed them at all as if this were a flashback. Ryo began screaming as the scene began to play, and when Ken spun his head towards him, he saw him clutching his head and looked down, attempting to look away from what was about to happen.

"NO! STOP IT! STOP IT ALL!" he shrieked. Ken couldn't understand what was really going to happen and he turned his attention back to the scene as the boys began to walk closer to Satoshi.

"Y'know, you're a real pain in the ass," one of the kids said as he stepped closer towards Satoshi whom was keeping his ground and glared at the group. Satoshi, however, was much smaller in size compared to the boys that were ganging up on him and it looked like he had no chance.

Still, he kept a brave face on and stood in front of the boy whom was lying on the ground in pain. It looked like he was defending him from them.

"Seriously kid, just buzz off and we won't hurt you. This brat deserves an ass whooping because he forgot to give us lunch money. Ain't that right, Hayate?" One of the other boys asked, turning to a boy who stood in the middle. Ken assumed he must be the leader.

"Yeah, and nobody gets away with it either," Hayate said, his voice becoming even more aggressive than his looks. The boys began to surround Satoshi and the injured boy, looking as if they were going to jump them.

Meanwhile, Ken noticed a smaller Ryo standing behind a tall bush, hiding from their sight. He looked awfully scared and each time he tried to set foot past the bush he would immediately pull away.

"I'm not scared of you ugly animals! My big bro Ryo is gonna come and beat you all up and you will regret trying to hurt me!" Satoshi cried as he prepared himself for battle. He held his fists up in the air, his legs slightly bent and glared at them all with determination. "And until he comes to rescue us, I'm gonna be this boy's hero!"

Hayate gave a disgusted look to him and balled his hands into fists. "That's it you little brat, we'll show you why you shouldn't piss off upperclassmen!" At that, he grabbed Satoshi by his head and threw him on the ground violently.

The other boys surrounded him and they all started to kick him, but Satoshi was still bringing himself up, and proceeded to punch Hayate with all the strength he could muster.

This caused Hayate to stagger back and he felt the side of his face; his eyes widened as he spat out what seemed to be a tooth in his hand.

"Oh ho ho, you're gonna get it now, you little shit!" Hayate growled as he attempted to tackle Satoshi. Satoshi managed to dodge him by sidestepping but he was met by another punch from one of the boys and was knocked down once more. Hayate slammed his hand onto his face and began slamming his head onto the concrete ground.

He showed pleasure and triumphant as he harmed the poor boy but his expression suddenly changed into surprise as Satoshi began biting his thumb.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Hayate shrieked as Satoshi bit down harder, and the horrifying sound of a bone cracking echoed throughout the empty campus as well as his screams. Hayate pulled away from Satoshi, his thumb bleeding severely and Satoshi's mouth trickling with his blood.

"You little shit!" Hayate roared in rage. Satoshi began to stand up until suddenly, Ken and Ryo watched in horror as a boy from behind pulled out a large pocket knife and impaled him from behind. Satoshi's eyes widened as pain spread throughout his body, and he collapsed onto the ground with a loud thud.

"Wh-what did you have to do that for!" Hayate lashed out at the boy who pulled out his silver knife, now dyed crimson. "W-well boss, he was starting to get annoying so-"

Hayate interrupted him and lashed out even more. "You idiot! That doesn't mean we should've gotten that far! C'mon, let's go before the cops come!" He ordered and soon the boys who were trembling in fear began to run away as fast as they could from the scene.

The boy Satoshi attempted to save sat there for a moment in silence, paralyzed with fear. He had finally come to senses and began screaming, his voice echoing throughout the whole town.

Younger Ryo only stared in horror as he stood still behind the tall bush, not even making a move through the whole fight. Satoshi was waiting for his arrival, hoping he'd come save the day. Ken looked at the present Ryo whom was sobbing and had broken down.

"Why..." Ryo said after the whole scene had disappeared and the world changed back to its grim color. "Why did you have to show me that again…" he asked, weeping in defeat. His voice trembled with every word as he turned his head towards the twisted and dark Satoshi.

Shadow Satoshi only stared at him with an indifferent expression on his face as his older brother continued crying.

"How useless you are. Only before I succumbed to death at the last minute did I find out you were a cowardly, selfish brother. After all those years, I've been lied to. I thought you would protect me brother," Satoshi said as his voice was mixed with anger and sadness. "But now, I know the truth."

Shadow Satoshi began to emit a dark and corrupted aura, laughing maniacally as a purple smoke began to emerge from the shadow and soon engulfed by it. As the purple smoke faded away, it revealed a knight, armor dyed yellow, a necklace that carried white feathers, and a short thin sword.

_Crap, this isn't good! I have to do something...Ah!_

"Now, face the pain you have caused me!" The Shadow roared as it lifted its sword up, preparing to swing it down. Ryo screamed in horror as he backed away, and stared at Ken whom was pulling out something out of his pocket and soon noticed it looked like a silver..GUN?

Ken knew his gut feeling was right to bring his evoker. Ryo watched in horror as Ken slowly brought the gun up to his forehead and he tilted his head down, thumbs preparing to pull on the trigger.

"What are you doing?! DON'T SHOOT!" Ryo screamed. Ken knew it wasn't normal to whip out a gun all of a sudden and shoot yourself in the head, but he had to do something. He couldn't guarantee the evoker would work in this strange world though.

_Alright, I can do this. I don't know if this will work but it's worth a shot!_

"Kala-Nemi!" Ken shouted and pulled the trigger, hearing the deafening sound of glass shattering in the process. Shards of blue exploded out the back side of his head, and a blue aura surrounded Ken as he looked up to see a certain figure he recognized two years ago.

A colossal orange robotic entity appeared before him, and stood still, awaiting his command. Ken smiled as he looked up to his persona. Ryo stared in disbelief as he watched the summoning of the whole thing.

"I can't believe it…" he murmured under his breath, amazement in his voice.

'It's just like old times,' Ken thought. The shadow attempted to charge forward towards Ken, leaving Ryo to watch dumbstruck.

"Zionga!" Ken commanded, pointing his finger at the incoming monster. His persona rotated its body and raised its robotic arms up as a bolt of lightning from above struck down upon the Shadow Knight. The shadow was paralyzed with electricity and collapsed onto the ground.

"Why…why must you try and save him? He's just pathetic scum that doesn't deserve to live. He…he took my life!" The knight asked in anger and confusion.

Ken knew this wasn't the end though. He sprinted towards Ryo, attempting to lift him up from the ground. Ryo however didn't give any strength to getting up and instead slumped upon Ken.

"Come on, we have to get out of here!" Ken said as he grabbed Ryo's arm and attempted to find somewhere safe to hide but Ryo resisted. He looked back at him, confused and noticed Ryo staring down at the ground and wouldn't bother to move an inch.

"He's right…," he muttered. "I am a coward, and I deserve to die. I've lied to him so many times and pretended to be a hero when I'm really not…"

Ken was about to scold him, but what distracted him from doing so was when the shadow began to bring itself up, furious now. It hovered swiftly towards them, preparing to swing its sword once more.

"If you're going to try and save this worthless being then you can join him in the afterlife!" the Knight screamed. Ken instinctively pulled Ryo away to the side, only a few inches away from being sliced in half. They both fell onto the ground and watched as the knight hover past them and turned around attempting to repeat the attack.

"Kala-nemi!" Ken yelled once more and the colossal entity stood in front of them, blocking the shadow from coming any closer to them. However, Kala-Nemi began to struggle holding the knight back as it made contact with him.

Ken gritted his teeth in frustration and spun around towards Ryo whom was still sitting in defeat. He grabbed him by his shoulders and started shaking him roughly.

"Come on, we can't stay here any longer! We have to get out!" Ken barked. Ryo would still stare at the ground, his eyes dull with sorrow and his whole body almost lifeless.

He grunted as he looked back and saw the Knight pushed his persona back into the wall of the school and was heading straight for them. He grabbed Ryo's arm and pulled him out of the way once more out of the knight's range. They tumbled across the school grounds once more and saw the knight was coming at them once more but was slammed violently into the wall by Kala-Nemi. Ken attempted to grab Ryo once more and run for it but noticed he still wouldn't budge.

Ryo pushed him away and glared at him. "Why? Why are you helping a poor coward like me? I can't move on anymore...its best I accept my death," he said with sorrow in his voice.

Ken glared at him in frustration and balled his hand into a fist, sending a punch towards his face. Ryo slid across the ground, and sat up while holding the right side of his cheek. He stared at Ken with wide eyes mixed with confusion and surprise.

"I've had enough of you crying and wishing to die now," Ken said angrily. He walked forward to Ryo and held his hand out, his scowling look changing to a sympathetic smile. "You may have been a coward in the past, but I know we can change that. You won't be alone to do it, Ryo-kun. You don't have to face your fears alone."

Ryo was silent but only stared at Ken with watering eyes of hope now. He nodded and stood in front of the golden knight that was occupied with Kala-Nemi. It stopped fighting the orange persona and turned towards Ryo, waiting to see his first move.

"You're right, Satoshi. I understand I was a coward back then and I lied to you about being your protector," Ryo began, sounding more mature than he was before.

"But I only did that because I wanted you to feel proud of me, to have a big brother who could stand up for himself and others. I know that was wrong of me to do so, but it was because I wanted you to have faith in me. It was because I loved you, Satoshi, and I still do even after that tragic day."

The Shadow Knight stood in the air for a moment before a purple smoke emerged from it once more, and as the smoke faded it revealed Shadow Satoshi standing in front of Ryo with it's glaring yellow eyes.

"The past has been haunting me every now and then, but it's time I conquer my fear," Ryo stated and turned his head back to Ken who was smiling at him and he returned the smile back. "This time, I won't be alone. I'll show you that I'll be a hero. I won't run away from my fears anymore."

Shadow Satoshi smiled, but this time instead of a wicked creepy smile it turned out to be a heartwarming one. His body began to regain its normal bright colors, and his eyes turned from black and yellow to normal emerald eyes that gave a look of admiration to his older brother.

"Someday, I wanna be as strong and fearless like big brother," Satoshi said and embraced his older brother. Ryo bent down, returning the hug and the two both shared a warm brotherly moment. Ken watched them, smiling and felt proud being able to help Ryo conquer his fear.

He then noticed Satoshi transmogrifying into a red shard piece and glowed brightly. They soon heard a voice and realized it was coming from the shard itself.

"I am the feeling of fear and uncertainty. I am scared of anything that comes my way, but thanks to you I feel...safe." The crimson shard then began to disintegrate into dust and landed into Ryo's open hands, taking the form of a red glowing shard. Ryo turned around, hoping to expect an explanation of what this might be from Ken.

Ken only gave him a look of confusion back and he walked closer, examining the shard. The amulet in his pocket began to glow even brighter than it did before and Ken pulled it out, wondering if it had to do anything with the shard. The scenery suddenly changed from a creepy school grounds to a playground and they both turned their heads, noticing two kids that resembled Ryo and Satoshi playing in the sandbox.

"Big brother, you'll always be there for me, right?" Satoshi asked innocently.

"I'll beat up anyone that tries to hurt you, Satoshi-kun!" Ryo replied and stood up, holding a wooden sword in the air. Satoshi stared at him with great admiration and began clapping for his older brother.

"I love you, big bro! I wanna be like you someday!" Satoshi cheered before the two children disappeared. Ken turned his head towards Ryo and saw him still staring at the sandbox and was smiling sadly.

"Ever since that day, my only dream was to be a savior and that comforted me through all these years. It was somewhat painful remembering him but it always gave me hope that he still relied on me."

"I'm sure you'll be a savior to someone soon, Ryo-kun," Ken said and they grinned at each other before they saw a glowing entity hover in the air before them. It was a knight clad in gold and silver armor, holding a long silver sword with a ruby embedded into it. Ares, as it called itself, disintegrated into the shard that glowed red once more and it began to float up into the air in front of the two.

Ken noticed a purple blur from far away on a building and thought he had recognized it from his nightmare. It leapt from there and in front of the two, startling the both of them. The creature from Ken's nightmare stood before them and its twin tails began to wave in the air.

"I see you have recovered a heart shard. I am very impressed," the lavender-winged creature spoke in a serious manner. Ryo jumped back slightly, staring at the odd creature that just talked.

"W-wait, you can..?" Ryo asked in confusion. Ken placed a hand onto his shoulder in attempts to settle him down and nodded. "Is that what that red shard was called?" He asked.

Iris, as he remembered she was called, nodded. "That is called a heart shard. It is one of the lost feelings of our world's god, Morpheus. It's surprising how a mortal was able to conquer one though. You are not ordinary, are you?"

Ken nervously laughed and smiled. "W-well, not really…I have the ability to summon a persona, if you know what that is." Iris nodded. "Indeed. I have heard of it in the dream world; how few mortals were able to end Nyx's Fall and to stop the whole mortal world from being covered in fog."

The Nyx part brought back the memory of when he stood on the very top of Tartarus with his comrades, how they were able to stop The Fall from happening thanks to…

Ken slightly shook his head and focused back onto the conversation. "Well, it seems another ordeal is upon us I guess."

She looked over at Ryo who still had a puzzled look on him and smiled slightly. She closed her eyes and the pearls on the end of her long ears began to glow, the scenery changing back to the dark forest they were in and saw the large ivory gate that stood before them.

"I sense there are two more humans left in the dream world. It is best you rescue them as soon as possible, for He may corrupt them in their dreams like they have for the rest of your people."

"Wait, who's he?" Ryo asked, regaining his composure. He attempted to walk over towards Iris but staggered a little bit, most likely from exhaustion.

"I will explain of him another time, if you decide to come back. All I will say now is you have the choice to rescue the two humans in our world before they will fall into a never-ending slumber. But be warned, the dream world also has its dark and dangerous sides to it," Iris stated sternly before she returned to the world by passing through the ivory gate. As she entered, the gate itself disintegrated, revealing a dead end.

Ken sighed heavily, extremely exhausted from this night's ordeal. Ryo was on the verge of passing out so Ken had let him rest upon his shoulders while they went on their way to return to the dormitory.

'So much for a normal life,' Ken thought. But he began to think again, this might not be so bad. Yeah, with the danger and risking your life to save people and all but he thought that this might just be like old times. He began reminiscing once more until Ryo snapped him out of his reverie.

"Hey," Ryo mumbled. Ken looked at him, willing to hear what he has to say.

"For some reason, I'm glad that you were the one to see me at my worst," Ryo said, exhaustion showing in his voice but with a hint of happiness in it. "I don't think I really would've been able to face my nightmare if you hadn't helped me. Thank you."

"Not a problem," Ken replied, giving a warm smile. At first this guy seemed to be really annoying and goofy but he realized that there is much more to him. After realizing that, he began to feel a faint stirring of friendship form between the two. Suddenly, time had stopped for Ken and he could hear a disembodied voice speak to him.

Thou art I… And I am though…

Thou hast established a new bond…

It brings thee closer to a new life…

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Magician Arcana…

Time continued and soon they were back in the dormitory. Ken helped Ryo get to his room and they both said good night to each other before Ken returned to his own room. He plopped down onto the bed, allowing the comfortable pillow to take him into the dream world; at least the good part of it. All he wanted to do now was to sleep and just be ready for the day in the morning.

…

After having to have drifted off into sleep, he opened his eyes and saw he was back in the Velvet Room. Everything looked the same he saw it last, but the movement of the train felt like it was moving a bit faster.

"And so we meet again," Igor chuckled. "It looks like you have finally started your journey and you have also established your first social link; the bonds that will help you complete your journey."

Beatrice smiled as she opened the brown grimoire on her lap, showing the first page. The page had a picture of Ken and Ryo walking back to the dormitory from the forest and a picture of the Magician's tarot card.

"You've obtained an irreplaceable ally, one who will help you bring you closer to the end of this journey," Beatrice stated, showing pleasure in her smile.

"However, the curtain of this ordeal cannot fall yet," Igor said much to Ken's dismay but deep down he knew it wouldn't happen so soon. "You must go through this again."

Ken sighed heavily, realizing the situation he was in. He imagined this was what Minato had to go through before and now he's finally in his shoes, experiencing the role he had. The only thing he didn't want to happen though was to sacrifice his life.

"Alright," Ken sternly replied. Igor and Beatrice smiled, happy that he was willing to cooperate; well, it's not like he had any other choice though.

"You're next trial will be very soon. I'm sure you'll be able to know when due to the sudden events that have occurred," Igor told him, chuckling once more. "Hold onto this…"

A blue velvet key appeared in front of Ken, floating before his face. He touched it and its glowing aura disappeared, falling into his hands.

"From this night forth, you are our guest in this Velvet Room," Beatrice explained. "Your destiny will require you to hone your power, and because of that, you will need our help," she giggled.

"There is but one price for this assistance," Igor began. Ken knew this wasn't going to be for free so he listened intently. "You must abide by your contract and assume responsibility for all decisions you may make."

"I understand," Ken replied firmly. He knew what he had to do and he was going to prepare himself for the inevitable journey that awaits him.

"Very well. I wonder where your awakened power of the Wild Card will take you…? I look forward to traveling the tracks of your destiny together…" he chuckled.

Ken began to hear the clock tower's bells chiming in the distance and eventually became louder. Whiteness once again began to engulf the room as Igor and Beatrice waved goodbye.

"Til we meet again…"


	5. The Feeling of Loneliness

**A/N: Wow, sorry it's been almost an entire year since I updated. I had lost the drive to continue this story a long time ago and I lost my files to it so I decided to give it up. That is, until I started co-writing Sirens with Miss Hanamura, I felt like I wanted to continue this story again and revamp it majorly. So after lots of planning and picking up the mess from where I started, here is the new beginning! Also, if you've read up to here before this updated, I recommend checking out the past chapters as there have been some major and minor changes in all of the chapters. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Three days had passed since the ordeal with Ryo's nightmare. Yuna and Momoko were still stuck in there, which worried Ken but he couldn't do anything because Ryo was still recovering. Rumors had begun about the strange disappearances of those two, claiming that they had gone missing because of "The Nightmare".<p>

Today, he decided to check up on Ryo after giving him some space. As he was about to knock on his door, it had opened suddenly and standing there with a big grin on his face was Ryo with auburn hair.

"Surprised? I decided to go back to my natural hair color now that I feel…free," he explained, using hand motions to exaggerate his sentence.

"It looks good on you, Ryo-san," Ken said with a smile on his face. He was starting to get used to his silliness now and was beginning to somewhat enjoy it. Ryo raised a brow at the mention of his last name. He gave a light chuckle and patted Ken on the shoulder.

"Drop the honorifics, man. We're friends now, aren't we?"

Friends…It was nice to have one here, especially since it was finally a person who's his age and not seven years older.

"Yeah," Ken replied with a smile and together they headed off for school.

**Sorayume Academy**

Lunch had begun, and the two went to the spot they first ate together at. They enjoyed talking about random topics, until a familiar face had walked up to them with a worried expression on her face.

"Hey, you're from Yuna-chan's class, right?" It was Asami, Yuna's older sister who was in the high school section of the school. Ryo nearly choked on his food, shocked to see that one of the popular girls had talked to them. Ken on other hand brushed it off and ignored his reaction.

"Yamazaki-san? What about her?" He asked, feigning an innocent face. He knew the truth of her whereabouts but it wouldn't do any good to worry her sibling.

"It's just…," She bit her lip and averted their gazes. "…Have you seen her? I've tried knocking on her door several times but I haven't gotten an answer. I'm worried that...-"

Suddenly, Ryo stood up, startling both Ken and Asami. He struck a dramatic pose, his hands clenched tightly into a fist. He looked at her with fierce determination on his face.

"Do not worry, Yamazaki-san," he said with an incredible try-hard deep voice. "We will find and bring Yuna back safe and sound in no time!"

Ken couldn't bear to stare at the painfully unfunny scene that unfolded before him and even saw passing bystanders smirking and giggling at them. Asami furrowed her eyebrows slightly with a crooked grin on her face, obviously showing she was uncomfortable with this.

"Err…please do so, then. I really care about my sister and I hope that nothing bad has happened to her. It was really troublesome getting away from _them_…" Ken raised a brow at the last part of his sentence.

"Them?" Asami looked surprised and had let out a small gasp. "Ah, I'm sorry. I better get going now." With that, she departed the spot and went off somewhere else. There was a brief silence before Ryo looked at Ken with a smug look.

"She will totally want me after we go and rescue Yamazaki-san and Fujihara-san."

Ken rolled his eyes and continued eating his lunch. Speaking of those two…

"Ah!"

"AGH!"

As Ken had let out his shriek of realization, Ryo was startled by it and fell, tumbling onto Ken.

"Get off of me!" Ken pushed the poor boy off him to the side quickly before anyone could see them like that. Just a moment like that could get other people to have the wrong idea…

"What was that all about? Geez," Ryo asked sourly as he rubbed his pained head.

"We have to go tonight! We've left them in the other world for too long and they might be in even more danger by now," Ken explained and felt panic rising in him, his stomach feeling as if it were churning in worry. Ryo shared the same reaction.

"Okay, okay, we shouldn't panic. We just go in at midnight and get out with the damsels in distress, right? It should be a piece of cake!" Ryo said with a seemingly confident voice but Ken knew that he was feeling the same. The bell for class rung and they decided to head back to class while planning their trip to the forest tonight.

**Sorayume Dormitory**

Ken returned to his room, hoping to rest up for tonight. He was lying down on his bed, gazing at the white ceiling before him, daydreaming about how events had transpired up to now. Turning his head to the side, he saw the ruby amulet sitting in the now open box glisten in the sunlight.

"It's all because of you," he murmured and recalled the day he ran into the mysterious lady. A knocking on the door had abruptly interrupted his train of thought and he sat up, walking towards the door to see who it was.

Nakashima was standing there, looking to the side worriedly and was fixing his tie, not realizing Ken had already opened the door. To grab his attention, Ken faked a cough.

"O-oh, sorry!" The man fixed himself quickly and regained his composure. "Amada-san, I regret forgetting to inform you that here in Sorayume, we require our students to join a club or extracurricular activity in order for them to have chances to develop bonds with each other and become closer."

He took out a neat signup form with activities listed on there, ranging from sports to art-related clubs. Ken took it from him and gave a small bow.

"Thank you, Nakashima-san. I'll be sure to sign up for one soon." With a grin, Nakashima departed and Ken closed his door with a heavy sigh.

He looked at the sheet of paper and read some of the activities listed there.

"Art, archery, basketball, music, photography…wow, they have a really wide variety here," he said to himself as his eyes followed the words until "Soccer Club" had caught his attention. He pondered whether or not to join it. He did like the sport after all and sometimes he would play soccer with Koromaru in his free time. As he continued down the list he saw "Ballet" which gave him a sudden uncomfortable feeling in his chest.

He placed the paper onto his desk and sat down with a grim expression on his face.

"We have to save them…"

…

"Ready, _friend_?"

Ryo held the baseball bat from before, the long part of it resting on his shoulder. He smirked at the approaching Ken holding the disassembled broomstick and a frown on his face.

"Don't use it like that or I won't consider you as one anymore," Ken replied dryly to which Ryo exhibited a panicked face.

"You're so cruel! I was only joking!" Ken grinned slightly as he walked past him onto the bridge that was now glowing. Ryo pouted and puffed his cheeks before following behind, his comedic act finally dropped.

The two both stood before the ivory gate that appeared before them, its height towering over them. They looked at each other with a serious hard look before nodding as they pushed the gate together, engulfed in a bright light once more.

**?**

"Ugh, where…are we?" Ken opened his eyes after having been blinded momentarily by the bright light. Rubbing his eyes, he focused on being alert of his surroundings and was looking around quickly.

That's strange; he was back in the classroom from Ryo's nightmare. But this time, Ryo was beside him and was experiencing his own wakeup at the moment.

"Huh…Uwaagh!" Ryo shrieked when he finally took notice of the dark classroom once more and looked at Ken with fear and confusion. "What's going on? I thought we were already done with this place!"

Ken immediately ran up to the window and looked outside at the campus everything seemed to be the same as it was before except…

…There were glowing flat blocks that resembled a staircase spiraling up into the nether sky.

"H-hey, does that lead to somewhere?" Ryo asked, joining him at the window. A growling sound could be heard not too far, sending a cold chill down the two boys' spines. They both exchanged a panicked look, their eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"We have to get out of here!" Ken shouted urgently and they both dashed out of the creepy gray classroom right as an explosion from the other side of the building had mingled with the end of his sentence. As they raced down the staircases to the ground floor, they could hear the growling sound coming closer and muck-like sounds crawling on the ground.

"AaaAAGGHH! What is that THING?!" Ryo's scream echoed throughout the abyssal world as they escaped the building and towards the stairs. Ken looked back, his eyes widening at the sight before him. It was a black swamp-like muck with claw-like hands and a red mask, resembling one of the shadows he'd fought before. He stopped in his tracks and turned around, glaring at the approaching shadow as it attempted to attack him.

_This should be easy, then._

"HYAAAH!" Ken cried as he jabbed the stick into the ground and grabbed it tightly, swinging himself as he delivered a swift kick to the shadow, the enemy falling upon impact. Pulling the broomstick out of the ground, he quickly made his way to the staircase along with Ryo who was staring at him in awe.

"Woah, I had no idea you were able to that. I guess you're less boring than I thought!"

Ken ignored his comment as they raced up the spiral stairs that were disappearing after each step. Looking down, he saw that the weak shadows had populated greatly as a horde attempted to reach towards them but were unable to.

_We probably wouldn't make it if they followed us up here…_

He grimaced at the thought of that and continued forward with Ryo only a step behind him.

…

The scenery had changed abruptly as they ran past a cloud-like barrier through the spiral stairs. The atmosphere was different from the world beneath them, but it still held an eerie feeling of discomfort. A large gothic tower stood before them and at the top they could see a bit of a circling black ring above it. Though it was difficult to see due to the fog and dark nether sky, they were able to make out only some parts of what it was.

"No, I'm sorry! Please, NOOO!" A disembodied voice screamed. It sounded almost like Yuna's. Another voice could be heard along with it, this time sounding more like an older woman's voice.

"Useless! Just like your whore of a sister! Everything you do, you somehow manage to screw it all up! Nobody loves you and nobody ever will, not after what happened to your parents!"

Ken and Ryo looked at each other with a worried look on their face before changing it to determination as they charged into the large tower only to be met with shadows crawling out of the walls, taking the forms of Dancing Hands and Mayas. The monsters began to give chase as the two dashed through the spiraling staircase inside.

"H-hey, Ken, can you tell me what _THOSE_ things are? They're really starting to give me the creeps!" Ken looked back to see an approaching Dancing Hand and turned around, proceeding to kick it down the stairs before continuing forward with Ryo.

"They're called shadows; negative thoughts and emotions from humans," Ken quickly explained as they continued up the stairs. He remembered Metis explaining that during their time in the Abyss of Time when everyone just thought they were the results of the experiment years ago.

After what seemed like a long time, they reached an empty floor with the only light source from the torches on the sides of the stone walls. A transparent image of two adults appeared with two young girls, both of them resembling the younger versions of Asami and Yuna. The four of them were smiling happily and both of Yuna's eyes were visible instead of one them being covered by her hair.

"Every day was always an exciting and fun adventure when we were together. Asami would always play with me while mom would cook yummy food for us. Father would always come home and give us big hugs and cool presents he'd bring after work. It was the best. But then…it all changed."

After Yuna's voice faded off, the image had disappeared as well leaving the two silent as they took in what they learned. Suddenly, a large shadow had appeared before them. It resembled a sorcerer wearing a jester-like cap with two giant shadow hands wrapping around its form.

"Leave," a dark and raspy voice echoed in the room as the large shadow opened its large hands, casting a spell.

"Get ready!" Ken ordered as he pushed Ryo out of the way while leaping to the side, a block of ice appearing in the spot they were in before. It shattered instantly, an explosion of ice shards flying in every direction.

"Agh!" Ryo stumbled over his feet and rolled across the stone floor, a few of the shards flying past him with little impact. He turned his head towards Ken, feeling panic arise in him.

"W-what do you want me to do? I know for sure if I get close I'm going to be a living Popsicle!" He really didn't know what to do and all he really did was try to avoid the ice attacks the shadow was casting. Ken immediately pulled out his evoker and was prepared to shoot, but was interrupted abruptly by an icicle that shot the gun out of his hand.

"Ah!" The silver gun flew in the air and slid across the floor when it landed, it being out of reach for both of the two boys. Ken shot an urgent look at Ryo as he tumbled to the side.

"Quick, summon your persona!" Around the end of his sentence, the magus had created another large ice block, proceeding to shatter it and had caused a loud noise that made it hard for Ryo to hear.

"What?! Purse owner?!" He shouted back at him after lowering his arms as defense against the ice shards. Ken grunted in annoyance. He really couldn't believe this guy.

"Per-so-NAH!" Ken repeated loudly and slower than before. Unfortunately, this drew the attention of the magus as it turned towards him, preparing another ice spell.

_Oh, crap!_

"Oh, I see! Okay…" Ryo called out from the other side of the room and Ken could see that he closed his eyes as if he were concentrating.

_Come on, I know you want to look cool and all but you have to summon it faste-…!_

A red shard appeared before him, a transparent tarot card of the Magician floating within it. It was burning a bright crimson light. Ryo stared at it dumbfounded for a moment before a smile crept upon his face.

"Alright, let's do this! Persona!" Ryo swung his bat at the shard, proceeding to shatter it into pieces as it floated up above him and taking the form of the warrior, Ares. Taking a stance, he swung the bat back as he lifted one arm up and pointed straight at the magus who had turned around to see the large knight hovering over the young boy.

"Go, Ares! Cleave!"

The plate-armored knight began soaring forward as it dodged most of the icicles that were sent at it, the ones that did made impact simply broke off with ease. Ares lifted the sword up high in the air and swung it down with all its strength, slicing the magus into two. The shadow gave a shrill cry before it exploded into a cloud of reddish black smoke. The battle was over.

Ken sat in place and stared at him with wide eyes as the boy walked towards the evoker on the ground. He picked it up, stared at it for a moment before looking at Ken.

"Looks like I won't need this," Ryo said with a smile as he threw it to the dumbfounded boy who later found himself scrambling on the floor trying to catch it. After giving a light chuckle, the room began to shake heavily, startling the two boys. The boy who was just cool and level-headed for a moment returned to his silly comedic self as he yelped and tripped over his feet while trying to run away from the sudden movement of the wall. Ken found it difficult to stifle his laughter.

"A-alright, we should keep going," Ken said as he accidentally snorted. Ryo gave him a weak glare to which he ignored as they walked towards the entrance where the wall used to be. It led to another staircase, though this time it was outside and was attached to the side of the tower. They both began to run up it, seeing how they weren't too far now.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Yuna's voice shrill scream echoed. At that moment, a boulder began tumbling down the staircase at a frighteningly fast rate.

"W-w-woah!" The two turned quickly and ran back down as they tried to evade the boulder. Ken noticed a depression in the tower and immediately jumped into it, pulling Ryo in to his surprise in the nick of time as the boulder rolled past. They were both gasping for breath, feeling adrenaline rushing in their bodies.

"I...was definitely…not expecting…that," Ryo said in between breaths, his body noticeably shaking slightly. Ken took a deep breath after catching his breath and peered outside slightly. No sign of dangerous boulders. Good.

"We better keep going," he said after waiting a minute and the two began running up the staircase once more, seeing the black moving ring closer in sight.

When they reached the top, they saw a large flock of ravens flying in what they perceived as the black ring. Yuna was in the middle and was clutching her head, shaking in fear.

"No…no…" She whimpered and when a raven had dived towards her, she screamed and scrambled around on the ground as she tried to avoid it.

_We have to get her out of here!_

"Yamazaki-san!" Ryo called out to her as they ran to protect her but had stopped in their tracks when they heard a malicious laugh echoing above.

"You'll always be alone, you runt. You've been abandoned and you'll never have anyone help you. Not even that whore who disappeared to who knows where? She probably did the right thing and ran away from here. She didn't even belong here anyways, just like you."

An image appeared before them again, this time in an old ruined house with an older woman and man who were standing over the younger Yuna who was lying on the ground with serious bruises and scratches all over. Only whimpering cries could be heard from her. This had obviously agitated the woman who proceeded to stomp on her. Yuna had let out a louder cry and she went into fetal position as she took the hits.

"Tch, you're starting to piss me off, you whiny little shit," the woman grunted as she grabbed Yuna by her hair and began dragging her violently outside. The poor girl's screams were much louder as she struggled to escape the woman's tyrannical grasp. The door had shut, and the cries of ravens could be heard mingling with her screams.

"AAHHhhhh…," Yuna's wailing had died down as the horrifying scene disappeared, her visible eye wide open. Ken and Ryo felt a chill down their spine as they watched it all; the reason for her nightmare. Even so, they attempted to run towards Yuna to take her away.

Suddenly, the tower began trembling again as a cylinder-like platform erupted from beneath Yuna, taking her higher up into the sky.

"Yamazaki-san!" They both cried out as the flock of ravens began soaring upwards and began circling around her, closer than before. A hoarse and loud deep screech could be heard from above. Looking up, the two boys couldn't believe their eyes; in the air was a humongous raven with two human heads that resembled the two abusers. A dark gray cloud hovered over it, creating thunderous sounds and sent bolts of lightning down towards the tower. It began to dive straight at Yuna with their sharp ebony beaks.

"Kala-Nemi!" The deafening sound of glass shattering was heard as the shards took form of the orange colossal entity once more. Kala-Nemi charged at the monstrous raven and upon severe impact, the raven shrieked, obviously caught off-guard. Ken spun his head towards Ryo who gave him a curt nod as the glowing red shard appeared before him once more.

"Ares!" The knight appeared before him once more and took an offensive stance. Ryo himself imitated him and he sent his arm out, pointing directly towards the Shadow.

"Cleave!"

Ares glided to the shadow and swung his sword, only for him to miss and strike only a part of the talon. The raven rose up higher and began flapping its wings faster. A barrage of ice shards appeared before its wings and aimed at the entire top of the tower.

"Yamazaki!" Ken shouted as he balled his hands into fists. Kala-Nemi immediately hovered in front of her, taking majority of the hits as the rest of the ice shattered into tiny pieces before Yuna who stared silently in awe. "Zionga!"

A bolt of lightning struck the body of the monstrous creature and it yet again let out another shrill cry. As it landed onto the tower, shaking it considerably with its weight and how much momentum it had, it roared once more towards the sky before staring directly down at the two boys who were in a defensive stance.

"This girl deserves to be alone! She's nothing but a burden on everyone's shoulders and there's nothing she can do about it. Isn't that right?" One of the heads exclaimed in a raspy hoarse voice before it swung its head towards the girl who stared at it back with fear.

"I…I…," She whispered and looked down guiltily. "…I am a burden. Everyone I know always leaves me because of it and I'm just...alone. Nobody really cares me about me."

_No, you can't believe whatever that creature's saying!_

"You have to fight it, Yamazaki-san! That isn't true!" Ken turned his head in surprise to see Ryo really fired up. He had a determined expression on his face, similar to how Ken had acted before. Ken began to feel the intense feeling of courage rise in him as well as he looked up at Yuna who was staring downwards in pity.

"He's right, Yamazaki-san. If we didn't care, we wouldn't be here in the first place to rescue _you_," he said and emphasized on the 'you' in hopes of making her realize. There was only silence coming from her and she remained still as if she were frozen.

"Don't believe a word they say! They're lying to you! They're only going to hurt you again like that slut, Asami! They'll abandon you! Despair! Despair at your loneliness!"

Ryo growled as he swung his fist back in anger. "Yamazaki! Whatever this monster's saying is a lie! Your sister truly cares about you! She's worried about you! Wasn't she the one who took you away them?!" Yuna made a slight movement, a light gasp escaping her lips. "…Asami…"

"Urgh…I'm getting fed up with this," one of the heads said as the two-headed raven launched itself off the ground, sending a strong wind below. The two boys struggled to keep their ground as they felt the powerful wind push them back slightly. They looked up to see the raven sprawl its wings out as the two heads were raised up to the sky. It let out a loud cry as the ravens from below began flying up and merging with the Shadow.

_No! She's going to die if we leave her up there!_

"Kala-Nemi!" The orange robotic entity grabbed ahold of Ken as he ran towards the cylinder-shaped platform and threw him up in the air, only a couple feet above it. As he landed, he immediately dashed towards Yuna who lowered herself further to the ground and held her head as she shook in fear. Above, the Shadow had summoned large ice swords that were levitating before it.

"Now, die!" The shadow screeched as the swords were instantly propelled towards the two. Ken fell to his knees by Yuna and held her, his back facing the incoming blades and he braced himself for impact.

"Maragi!"

…_Huh?_

He heard combustion directly behind him and warm water splashing against his back. Turning around, he could hear and see the steam forming up in the air and the ice blades nowhere in sight. Instead there were only puddles of water surrounding them, much to his surprise.

"What?!" The raven couldn't believe it as well and was dumbstruck by the sudden turn of events. Ken peered down to see Ryo looking up at him and giving a thumbs-up.

"Don't worry about it, man! I've got it all covered!" He then focused his attention on the raven that was obviously targeting him this time. "Let's go, Ares! Agi!"

Meanwhile, Ken loosened his embrace over Yuna and saw her slowly sit up. He couldn't really see the expression on her face since he was on the side of her where her face was covered.

"…You protected me." Ken seemed taken aback by this, not expecting her to reply to be this.

"Well, yeah," he said as he changed his position and stood in front of her. He could get a better view of her this way and he saw her staring down at the ground with a sad expression on her face. "You won't be alone anymore, Yamazaki-san. That's because we're here for you now, especially your sister."

She slowly raised her head up to look at him; her eye was wide in surprise and her face gaping open slightly. Ken extended his hand out to her, and she stared at it before returning her gaze to his.

"…Really?" She asked, still in disbelief. Ken nodded, a warm smile forming upon his face.

"You're important in our world, Yamazaki-san. That's why we'll always be by your side from now on."

She continued to stare at him in silence, a tear forming in her eye before she shakily reached for his. As their hands made contact, he helped pull her up and together they both looked at the monstrosity who was currently distracted in a battle with the knight.

"Y-you're right…I'm…I'm not alone anymore," Yuna repeated, her voice rose higher with confidence at the end of her sentence. The raven stopped abruptly in the air and spun around as it faced Yuna, completely baffled by this sudden declaration.

"What?! No, you're alone! You will ALWAYS be alone!" The shadow kept attempting to coerce her back into that belief, but its attempts were becoming futile as Yuna shook her head in response.

"That was in the past. I've always been alone in the past because I refused to accept help from anybody when I needed it! But it's all going to change now."

"NO! NO! NO!" The raven screeched in defiance as it sent another barrage of ice shards towards them only for them to be melted by the fire Ares had created.

"Ken, get ready! It's starting to get weaker now!" Ryo called up at him. Ken nodded in affirmation as he pulled out his evoker once more. Yuna's eye widened in shock, but before she could do anything, he had already pulled the trigger, repeating the process.

"Ares!" Ryo shouted in command as they were about to deliver the final blow. The knight pulled back his sword as he prepared to launch it, aiming straight at the raven's heart. The monstrous shadow let out another wail as the sword had become deeply plunged into its chest and began flapping around in hysteria.

The colossal entity appeared above Ken, waiting for his command. Yuna stared up at the large persona in awe before looking at Ken who had a determined expression on his face. The boy glared at the weakened shadow as he swiftly swung his arm to the side, releasing his hand from a fist.

"Zionga!"

A surge of electricity raced up the sword and flowed into the raven as it screamed in agony.

"AAAAAGGGHHH!"

A bright spark was created where the sword had been plunged and soon a bright light had engulfed the entire area, forcing everyone to shield their eyes for a brief moment. When they opened their eyes, they saw only ebony feathers showering down upon them.

A small red glowing entity flew its way down to where Yuna was and she instinctively opened her hands, allowing it to rest on her palms.

"I am the feeling of loneliness. I've always been in solitude for so long, but now…I want companionship. I want to be in the company of others."

Their surroundings had radically changed; the ground had changed into a large and wide crystal lake that they were able to stand on, and the sunlight beamed down upon them. A woman in a white tutu was dancing gracefully and alongside her was a smaller girl who looked like a little version of Yuna.

"I remember when my parents were alive we would go to the theatres sometimes and watch plays. One of them involved ballet and because of how infatuated I was with it, I made it my goal to be one of the best ballerinas," Yuna stated as she watched the smaller her dance with the woman in bliss.

Above the shard was a golden girl in a regal ballet tutu decorated with gems of the same shade with small golden wings sprouting from her back. A large golden egg shell slightly encased her, allowing her body to be fully seen and her eyes were completely closed. With her soft and gentle voice, she introduced herself as Coppelia before disintegrating into the heart shard.

"Another heart shard recovered. Well done, mortal. I see you're beginning to exceed my expectations."

The three turned around to see the slightly large creature again, this time with Momoko on her back and unconscious.

"W-what is she…?" Yuna asked, frightened by this sudden appearance. Ryo had let out an awkward chuckle as Ken tried to think of the right words to say.

"Well…you see, she's sort of like a guardian of his place," he said, trying to sum it up as best as he could. He looked at Iris who only gave him a blank stare before tilting her head down slightly.

"That would be mostly correct. I try to protect your kind from falling to the nightmare's power, though…," she trailed off as she glanced at the unconscious Momoko. "I was able to rescue her physical body in time, unfortunately however, her soul had been possessed by the negative emotion she carried and is now stored away with the Nightmare's forces. The only way of getting her back is to reach the core, though you would be obliterated instantly if you tried to go there now. I suggest gathering more allies before you reach that step."

Ken nodded. He understood that it was just the beginning now and while it does bother him, he must wait until he's ready to fight whatever is causing this.

"W-wait so does that mean she's in a coma right now?" Ryo asked out of curiosity. Iris nodded much to their dismay.

"We…we'll be sure to rescue her then as soon as we can," Yuna exclaimed with determination in her voice. Suddenly, her movements became wobbly and she found herself nearly fainting of exhaustion.

"W-woah, there!" Ken reached out quickly and held her before she fell to the ground. Her eye was very droopy and he could tell she was about to pass out at any moment.

"It has been yet another exhausting ordeal for you all. I will allow you to return to the safety of your home world now," Iris said, noticing the condition Yuna was in. The surroundings changed once more and they found themselves back in the forest, the ivory gate slightly open. She crouched down and allowed Momoko to gently slide off of her as Ryo held her from falling.

"Until we meet again," she said before returning to her world, the ivory gate disappearing along with her.

The group was silent for a moment before Ryo had let out a sigh.

"Well, we might have some explaining to do; two boys with two unconscious girls? That's _definitely_ not suspicious at all," Ryo exclaimed sarcastically before lifting Momoko up. Ken turned around and allowed Yuna to climb onto his back as she wrapped her arms weakly around his neck and him holding up her legs piggy-back style.

"It's better than to leave them out here where someone who's truly suspicious could get them. It's probably best if you take Fujihara-san to the hospital though," he replied. With a nod, the two went their own separate ways; Ken to the Girl's Dormitory and Ryo to the local hospital in Sorayume.

"…A-Amada-san?" Yuna's weak voice murmured into his ear. He lifted her up once more, as he felt her falling down slightly.

"Hm?"

"…T-thank you…for saving me. No one's ever…protected me like that except…"

"Shhh, Yamazaki-san. You deserve to rest now. We're almost there," Ken interrupted her but had said it with a gentle and sympathetic tone in his voice. He could hear a small giggle escape her lips which made him smile.

Time had stopped once more and he could hear the disembodied voice speak to him again.

_Thou art I…And I am though…_

_Thou hast established a new bond…_

_It brings thee closer to a new life…_

_Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Priestess Arcana…_

Time continued and soon, he found himself standing in front of the girl's Dormitory. He was rather hesitant to knock, since it's very uncommon for the opposite sex to visit the other but before he could really make his decision, the door had opened suddenly and standing there was a very relieved Asami who gasped in surprise and hugged Yuna while hugging Ken too in the process.

"Yuna! You're back! I'm so glad…" She exclaimed in pure happiness, tears flowing from her eyes. Ken gave a small nervous laugh as he turned around and allowed her to grab her from his back.

"Thank you so much, Amada-san. Though I don't want to admit it, I am forever in your debt." She gave a very deep bow before carrying the unconscious Yuna inside and had closed the door.

"Well, I guess it's time for me to go to sleep too."

…

After a couple of days had passed, everyone talked about how Yuna had mysteriously returned and how Momoko had fallen into a coma. Some people claimed that it was all Yuna's doing but there really wasn't any concrete evidence of it, so the thought of that had faded away. Yuna had returned to class and was fully recovered.

The lunch bell had rung and Ken and Ryo planned to eat lunch together again as usual. As they were about to leave the classroom, they saw Yuna who was about to leave by herself like she normally did. Ryo and Ken looked at each other and gave a nod. As they approached her, she noticed them coming and she stiffened, showing signs of discomfort.

"Hey, Yamazaki-san—"

"I-I'm sorry, I won't bother you!" She exclaimed nervously and was about to dash for it, but felt something grab ahold of her. "…Ah!"

Everyone in the classroom turned their heads toward them after hearing Yuna's gasp. Ken had apparently grabbed ahold of her wrist, which the act had startled all three of them as a surprise.

"Err…s-sorry about that, Yamazaki-san!" Ken apologized shakily, not wishing to attract any more attention as he pulled away immediately. Yuna remained still, her back facing towards the two boys. "We just wanted to know if you'd like to have lunch with us is all."

Instantly, Yuna's back straightened and she turned around, her visible eye slightly widened. The two boys exchanged a worried look and though maybe it wasn't the right time yet.

"I-If you don't want to, then you don't have-"

"O-Okay!" Yuna exclaimed, her voice slightly shaking but her face had brightened with high spirits at the invitation. The two boys were astonished by that reaction but nonetheless were glad that she was able to talk to them now.

Sitting on the small hill, they had prepared a cute little picnic, all three of them enjoying their lunches and talking about random subjects.

"H-Hey…" Yuna murmured when they were all quiet for a moment. Ken and Ryo turned their heads towards her, listening to what she wanted to say. "I-I don't mean to be a bother to you guys. If you don't want me around, it's fine—"

"Now that's one of the silliest things we've heard so far," Ryo chuckled and had a sly smile on his face. Yuna looked at him dumbfounded before turning towards Ken who was also grinning at her.

"Like I said before, Yamazaki-san, we're here for you because we want to be. You don't have to keep pushing anyone away anymore." Yuna sat there with only a look of amazement, not really knowing how to react.

"So, we're friends now. You alright with that, Yuna?" Ryo asked, looking at her with a big grin as well as Ken. She merely blinked at them before she gave a swift nod.

"I am definitely okay with that," she replied with a bright smile on her face. The three shared a heartily laugh together as they continued chatting. Ryo stopped suddenly as if he had come to a realization.

"Ah! I forgot to mention this earlier, but we need to discuss about the gate in the forest," he exclaimed. "Why it mysteriously appears at midnight and why it shows people's worst nightmares and fears." Ken really didn't want to think about it much, but he did know it was important. They couldn't continue on like this and not know the reason why this mystery is happening. Ryo abruptly stood up, startling Yuna and Ken as he struck one of his silly poses again.

"So, since we're the only ones with a...what's it called again?" He looked at Ken who groaned in reply.

"Persona, Ryo."

"Right, right! What he said!" He said with a sense of pride in his voice. Yuna couldn't help but giggle at his silliness while Ken rolled his eyes.

_You used it just a few days ago and you forgot what it's already called? Ugh, whatever._

"We're the only ones with this power, so the fate of Sorayume lies on our shoulders, The Nightmare Fighters!" He announced proudly, gaining attention from passing students who gave him a look of confusion. Yuna giggled and applauded joyfully at his speech as she stood up with him.

"Nightmare Fighters...it's a funny but cool name!" She commented. Ken furrowed his eyebrows. He couldn't really believe he was friends with people like this.

_Nightmare Fighters? That sounds like something off of a superhero show or something..._

But somehow, being friends with them felt...refreshing. It was different from when he had forced himself to be more mature than he needed to be back in Iwatodai. Instead, it felt okay to be a child now and enjoy the silly fun with people his age. He stood up along with them with a grin on his face.

"Right, we're The Nightmare Fighters now!" He said with approval in his voice. They extended their hands in the middle of the small circle they created and on the count of three, threw their arms up in the air and laughed as they shared this cheerful and encouraging moment together. Suddenly, Ken could hear the familiar disembodied voice echo into his head once more.

_Thou art I…And I am though…_

_Thou hast established a new bond…_

_It brings thee closer to a new life…_

_Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Fool Arcana…_

The school bell rung soon after and the students began returning to their classrooms. The three however stayed in place for a little longer before going back.

"Hey, Ken," Ryo exclaimed as he looked at the boy with an expectant expression on his face. "As much as I hate to admit it, I don't think I'm cut out for being the main man. Y'know, taking all the responsibility and making decisions for us and all." Ken blinked in response. What was he getting at? He looked at Yuna who was fidgeting slightly before her trembling mouth had finally let out a sound.

"I-I would feel much better if you could lead us as well. I doubt I'm capable of doing so. You're also much more mature than the both of us," She said, averting her gaze from his and instead stared at the grass below. Ryo looked shocked by this admittation and began squirming around comedically.

"H-hey, I'm mature too!"

_I see...so they want me to be their leader._

Ken closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As he opened his eyes, a fierce and determined expression formed on his face as he gave an absolute nod.

"I will take up the role as leader then."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And this chapter has come to and end at last! I will do my best not to drop this story again! So please, continue reading and review!**


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